My Life
by simple charm
Summary: In a little bookshop, one person will tell their story in the newest book by the famous author. It's rumored that she'll be revealing her identity and stop hiding behind her pen name...
1. Twin Bells

I don't know why I deleted my old story. Do you?

Disclaimer: CLAMP is a group of four people that live in Japan and write manga. I am only one person. Who doesn't live in Japan, and the only manga I ever wrote was one page long.  
In other words – no way do I own Cardcaptor Sakura!

Chapter 1 of 'My Life'  
_Twin Bells

* * *

_

In Tomoeda, a woman of about 26 stopped in front of the Twin Bells shop, peering in. The two bells, painted 15 years ago, were still intact, and the owner was still around. It wasn't a simple general store anymore; it was now a bookstore.

Chiharu blinked. There were a lot of people in the store, so it was a good thing that Maki-san had decided to expand it a few years back. She peered through the windows displaying the new releases. Her eyes widened in excitement.

Her favorite author had released another story! Chiharu pushed in the door, and entered the shop, ignoring the gust of wind pushing half of her long hair aside, making it seem separated into 2 pigtails, the way she used to wear her hair so long ago.

* * *

Sakura sighed happily as she pulled a set of pink cards out from a small, denim case that she had been given from Tomoyo. It was worn out, but it still worked. The cards had an intricate star design on the back of each card, and an image of some sort on the front. Her fiancée, Syaoran, had kindly taken her back to Tomoeda for a reunion (of sorts) with her friends. 

She loved these cards. They were the whole reason she'd ever met Syaoran.

Li Syaoran, with his brown hair and brown eyes had met her long ago, chasing after the same cards she was looking at right now. His disdain for her had turned to love, and two weeks ago, he'd proposed to her. And she'd said _yes_.

Stopping in front of their meeting place, Sakura noted that the entrance didn't look much different, but the interior was. The 2 yellow bells on the door, the ones she and her friends had painted so long ago, were still intact. Sakura recalled long ago, when Maki-san had decided to transform the general store into a bookstore, when a rival store named Little Objects had opened. Maki-san lost most of her business to them, but she couldn't stand to get rid of the shop.

So she'd decided to convert the little shop into a bookstore, and it was an instant hit. In fact, last she heard from Rika-kun was that there had been a need to expand the bookstore, and Maki-san had finally gotten around to it in recent years.

There was supposed to be a new release today by one of Sakura's favorite authors. And there it was in the window! Sakura pushed in the door as a blast of wind blew her auburn hair into her face, making her wonder why she hadn't kept it short.

* * *

Naoko inhaled sharply when she saw all the people in the store standing around and reading books. Books Ikumo Arisu, the famous author who wrote under a pen name, had written. Her new book had been released today, and Naoko wanted to see it, but there wereno copies left on the 'New Releases' shelf, so she settled for a different book. She pulled it off the shelf and proceeded to find a chair. 

Spotting one, she quickly sat and opened the book, paying little attention to the cover or the title. Minutes later, her reading was interrupted by someone.

"Oh! You're reading Stars and Night Skies by Ikumo Arisu!" Naoko, startled, jumped. Out of habit, she reached to push her glasses up the bridge of her nose, and then remembered that she didn't have glasses anymore. She looked up at her surprise visitor, who continued talking.

"Did you know that Arisu-sempai will be revealing her real identity today?" The girl asked, brushing invisible dust off her apron. There were 2 yellow bells on it, indicating she was an employee.

"Wow. Really?" Naoko asked. "Maybe I'll get to meet her."

"She wrote a new book, you know, and it's not that one."

Naoko nodded, returning to her book. "Okay, but I wanted to read her widely acclaimed book first."

"Oh." The employee, who couldn't thing of anything else to say, left Naoko alone.

* * *

"Hmm…" Chiharu paused. "This is it!" Tugging the book off the shelf, she stared at the title in surprise. _What an odd title…_ she thought, staring at it. 

_Oh well,_ she decided, as she headed towards an empty seat, paying no attention to the woman sitting next to her with the long hair reading the same book.

She opened the book, and stared at the forward.

* * *

_This story is a true story. Though the names may have been changed, the events that happened are true._

_I took creative license in keeping my friends' names secret, so that they couldn't be identified for whatever they did in this book._

_This story actually started as something different, but it slowly started merging with my life, so I changed details, transforming it from the story it was. Into my story._

_What will happen when you turn the page? Well, you'll be sucked into my past, witness the pain I felt, feel my undying love, meet the friends I haven't seen for a long time._

_Parts of this story which I haven't told anyone, not even my friends. But maybe they'll figure out who I am. And maybe they'll finally let bygones be bygones.

* * *

_

Chiharu wondered secretly who Arisu-san's friends were as she flipped the page, to the first chapter.

The long haired woman next to her suddenly jerked up, which made Chiharu cry out in surprise, dropping her book. Turning, Chiharu blinked when she saw those emerald eyes. Ones that could only belong to one person she'd met in her entire life…

"Sakura-kun?"

"Chiharu-kun?"

Well, needless to say, they were both in shock.

* * *

Flipping the page, Naoko could see why this was the most widely acclaimed book. How many authors killed off the main character, only for people to discover that the person killed wasn't the main character? It was an amazing twist that Naoko already knew about – most likely from the reviews that she'd read about the book. 

"Konnichiwa, Yanagizawa-kun," a man's voice whispered in her ear. Naoko tensed. If this was him, she was definitely prepared to knock him out again… but it wasn't him. He'd never had glasses, or a distinct aura like this man did.

He smiled at her, a smile she hadn't seen in years, one that she recognized. It was a playful grin, and it looked teasing, as if it was hiding something he knew and she didn't.

Those familiar blue eyes… _Like the depths of the ocean,_ her writing side supplied. And his hair was the exact same color.

"Hiiragizawa-kun?" His smile widened, proving that, in fact, he was Hiiragizawa Eriol.

"Nice to see you again, after all those years…" He said.

"Don't you live in England?"

"Hai, demo –"

"What are you doing in Japan?"

"Er… well, I'm here to meet someone," he replied uncertainly.

"Daidouji?"

"Hai, and others…"

"Everyone else?"

"Hai, demo I wasn't expecting _you_ to be here," He replied.

"I'm here to read. I didn't know about the meeting you are here for," Naoko stated, suddenly reverting to her tone of voice reserved for formal affairs.

"Such a cold tone!" Eriol muttered, looking hurt, in a way.

"Are you also here to meet Arisu-sempai?"

"I'd heard that she was going to be here –"

"Get to the point," she interrupted.

"Hai, that's why Syaoran-kun decided to have the meeting here – we're all eager to meet Arisu-san," he said quietly. Naoko didn't reply to this, refraining from saying anything else that might make her seem strange; they were getting enough looks as it was.

"Yanagizawa?"

"…" Eriol got the hint. He left in search of his cute little descendant.

Naoko breathed a sigh of relief. If only Eriol knew…

If only anyone knew…

But they'd all know soon enough…

* * *

The forward of the book was a little confusing to write for me, gomen! 


	2. Do YOU know Ikumo Arisu?

Here's chapter 2!

Disclaimer: Anyone recognize the characters from Cardcaptor Sakura in this story? Any of them you recognize, I don't own.

Chapter 2 of 'My Life'  
_Do YOU know Ikumo Arisu?_

_

* * *

_

"…We're here today, in the Twin Bells shop, a bookstore where it is said Ikumo Arisu will be revealing her true identity today! Her new book, My Life, is flying off the shelves! There aren't any more copies on the shelf anymore!" The news reporter cried, indicating the empty 'New Releases' shelf, which had been stocked with copies of My Life that morning.

"Since Arisu-sempai hasn't shown up yet, we'll go to the weather!" The screen on the television changed to the weatherman.

"I can't tell you how excited I'll be to finally find out who she is! Anyways, today is a beautiful day in April, at a sunny 23ºC (72-73ºF, for those who don't know), and a wonderful day for a walk…" The weatherman continued rambling.

Sasaki Rika, who was currently hunting for her purse so she could go meet her friends, had ended up stepping on the remote while she was pulling out the couch cushions. She was surprised to find out that her one of her favorite authors, Ikumo Arisu, was going to stop writing under a pen name and actually use her real name.

No time for that now, she needed to find her purse. Now where did she put it…?

* * *

_My Life  
By: Ikumo Arisu_

Chiharu sighed and stared at the title page, while Sakura began her long-winded explanation of why she was in the bookstore, beginning from the reunion Li-kun had planned, to his secret (or not so secret) messages he'd left on Chiharu and Rika-kun's phone lines, to the row he had with Hiiragizawa-kun, to the pain of contacting Tomoyo-kun, because she was a busy designer, to the fact that Ikumo Arisu was going to reveal herself today, to the request of Li-kun that she go on her own, because he needed to see if he could find Takeshi-kun's house because he'd lied (again) about his phone number, only to discover he was at college, applying for med school, but would come as soon as possible, after he finished the brain surgery that he was performing (a lie, again), to…

Wait a second. What was that? Chiharu turned to Sakura.

"Nani?" Chiharu asked.

"Well, see, Syaoran-kun wanted to…"

"Iie, not that, something you said before," Chiharu said, trying to specify.

"Yamazaki-kun lied?" Inside, Chiharu was making plans to hurt him as Sakura continued.

"Arisu-sempai is revealing herself? Tomoyo was busy? Syaoran-kun left messages?" Wow, Sakura had a good memory.

"No, just one of them," she said. It still hadn't registered in her mind yet. "Could you repeat them?

"Ano… Yamazaki-kun lied, Arisu-san is revealing herself –"

"NANI?" It finally registered in her head, what Sakura had said.

"No.Way." She muttered, trying to ignore the people who were staring.

"_No… way…"_

_

* * *

_

_Wow, news spreads fast,_ thought the dark-haired girl as she saw the recently posted sheet of paper on the window of Twin Bells, advertising the fact that Ikumo Arisu was going to reveal her identity, a fact Tomoyo had already discovered, thanks to the news report that had been playing in the café that she'd stopped at on the way.

There were a lot of people in the bookstore, and she could see the news reporter standing in front of the 'New Releases' shelf, interviewing people, asking whether any of them knew who Ikumo Arisu really was. When Tomoyo stepped in the store, the reporter and her cameraman, along with three people carrying lights, microphones, and such, came upon the purple eyed girl, who paled. Tomoyo didn't particularly _enjoy_ news reporters.

"Do _you_ have any idea who Ikumo Arisu is actually?" Tomoyo didn't respond, debating whether or not she should lie to the reporter.

"Iie, I don't," Tomoyo finally said, and turned away, but not before the reporter recognized her.

"You're Daidouji Tomoyo! You're my favorite clothing designer! Your clothes are the most amazing things I've ever seen!" The reporter was starting to get on her nerves, little by little.

"That's nice, now if you'll excuse me –" She was interrupted by the reporter.

"When is your next design coming out?"

"Tomorrow, now I need to be going –" And once again, foiled at her attempt to escape.

"Will your design be flashy, or simple?" Tomoyo decided to respond with a question.

"Are you the paparazzi or the news reporter?"

"The news reporter, why do you think I'm here?"

"Seems to me like you're the paparazzi," Tomoyo stated simply. And with that, she left the confused reporter with her camera crew.

* * *

Naoko sighed. Finally, she could read a copy of Ikumo Arisu's (one of her favorite authors, seeing as she had so many) My Life. Tugging a copy off the shelf and heading somewhere to sit, she peered at the cover. A small smile appeared on her face when she saw it. Then, a loud scramble startled her, and she turned toward it to see a news reporter, darting towards… 

…_her_, Yanagizawa Naoko.

"Konnichiwa, I'm a news reporter from Channel 7, Japan News. What is your name?" Naoko blinked at her in surprise.

"…Yanagizawa Naoko desu," she replied, after a moment's silence.

"Nice to meet you! Do you have any idea who Ikumo Arisu actually is?" She received silence from Naoko. Should she lie to the reporter, or tell the truth? And shouldn't the reporter give her own name as well?

Naoko exhaled. "Hai, I do know who she is, demo –" She was interrupted by a barrage of questions.

"Who is she? When will she be here? Why is she writing under a pen name? Where does she get her ideas from?" Well, that was rude.

"I promised her I wouldn't tell who she is, so I'm not going to say anything," Naoko replied to the questions, and abandoned the rude news reporter, the lie she told lingering behind her.

* * *

Tomoyo stood, clutching her digital camera, which she'd pulled out of her purse. She was snapping pictures, instead of using the filming feature of her digital camera, because there was too much noise in Twin Bells. That would ruin her video tape because the audio wasn't very good, since it made background sounds louder. Tomoyo had been meaning to get a new camera, but she hadn't had any time yet. Tomoyo figured that the news reporter had all the conversation on her camera, so she'd decided not to videotape, even though she sorely wanted to get the shocked expression of Eriol when he saw her. 

Unfortunately, he hadn't spotted her yet, even though he was the reincarnation (well, half) of Clow Reed. She figured he would've sensed her by now, but he hadn't even noticed her. She was pretending to be frustrated for the camera, but inside, she was laughing so hard that she could potentially die of laughter, as she watched Eriol walk around in confusion in a completely frazzled manner.

"He hasn't even noticed me yet!" She muttered. And that's when her eyes narrowed, her field of sight shrinking.

Eriol was wondering at this point how long he'd have to keep this act up until Tomoyo figured out that he was pretending. And that's when he was barreled over by a news reporter and her camera crew, who had spotted Tomoyo.

Tomoyo, upon seeing the camera crew, quickly stuffed her digital camera away, and disappeared into the crowd. Disappointed, the camera crew turned to Eriol.

"Konnichiwa! I'm a special news reporter from Channel 7, Japan News. What's your name?" Eriol, unlike Naoko, gave her an automatic response.

"Hiiragizawa Eriol desu."

"Now that we've gotten past that," _She's not even bothering to give her name? _Eriol wondered. "Do you have any idea who Ikumo Arisu is?" She continued.

Eriol smiled before deciding to answer. "Iie, I don't. Demo, maybe someone else does?" He suggested, his grin widening. The reporter smiled back, but it was a fake smile. Eriol, who could read minds at will, heard what she thought about his statement – even though he didn't mean to.

_Something about that smile of his makes me suspicious…_

_

* * *

_

Sakura and Chiharu were also approached by the reporter, and they both stared at her. Without even bothering to ask names, she fired her question at them.

"Do either of you know Ikumo Arisu?" Sakura and Chiharu blinked as one.

"Ano… iie, I don't," Sakura replied after awhile, after a silent debate.

Chiharu was faster, though, and had already replied with an, "I don't recall anyone who mentioned that they were Ikumo Arisu."

The reporter sighed, and she and the camera crew left, as Chiharu turned began reading.

* * *

_Chapter 1: Intro_

_Normally, when anyone tells a story, the opening statement is, "Let's start at the beginning."_

_Question is, where do you start? When you were first born? How about when you first witnessed anything? Or how about 3 days ago?_

_Well, I decided to start where I felt my life changed the most, even though that's chapter 2. Here, I need to give some background information, before I do anything else._

_I was born to an ordinary mother and father. But there was something that made me different. Enough so that my parents died, trying to protect me, leaving my brother, who at the time was 4, and me, at 3 years old. We were both adopted into the same family when I was 4, and we ended up getting different names._

_I went to school in Japan, and transferred at some point, but I don't remember when. My friends kept a lot of secrets, and so did I, because I eventually discovered a lot of things that I didn't want them to know about._

_I still talk to my friends, and I see them occasionally, but that's about it. Other than that, I haven't made much effort to see my friends._

_I wonder how they'd feel if they found out whom I really was…_

_

* * *

_

The camera crew approached a ton of other people, many of whom had hesitated before saying yes or no.

A group of girls had responded in this manner: "Like, totally! We all, like, know this Ikumo Arisu. She came with us here, but then she like, vanished! It was like, such a shock, wasn't it?" The girl received nods from her friends. "So, like, unfortunately, you'll like, have to look for her, like, yourself."

A rebellious-looking boy had responded with a: "Why don't you and your damn camera crew get away from my personal space? I have no idea, okay?"

A brown-haired man, who looked familiar to the reporter for some reason, glared at her before responding, "I have no idea! I'm trying to find my fiancé here!" When the camera crew left him, she realized that he looked a lot like the famous Li Syaoran, but she dismissed that.

A boy of about 12 said, "Sure, I know her. But I'm not getting her for you."

A mother, trying to keep a handle on her 5 year old son, replied, "Can't you see I'm busy here? I don't know!"

A couple, who were browsing the shelves, both gave her a "No, we don't," in response.

A girl who looked around 10 stared at the reporter, and said with a big smile on her face, "You want me to get Auntie Alice(1)? I don't know where she went. Demo, you know," the girl added, her voice getting confidential, "She writes cool books! Like this one!" She held up a copy of Song of the Butterfly, a chapter book for children that Ikumo Arisu had written.

A woman who looked her early 40's said, "I wish I did, but I don't."

A girl who had boys following her as if they were some kind of fanclub replied, "Of course I know her. I know everyone!" She laughed, and all the boys sighed, little hearts floating around them.

The reporter decided to leave her report at that, a little spooked by all the girl-obsessed boys.

* * *

Panting, Rika reached Twin Bells. Grabbing the door handle for support, she turned to see whether or not anyone had followed her. The freaky feeling that she'd had still lingered, as she pulled the door open, seeing that her follower wasn't around. 

She was wrong. The person who'd followed her to the store peered out from the nearby alleyway, smiling to himself as he watched her enter.

* * *

(1) Arisu is Alice in Japanese. 

And that's the end of chapter 2!

For anyone who's reading, I'd like you to guess who lied, and who didn't. In other words, who you think _does_ know her, and who doesn't (please be specific about it, as well). You can even e-mail me at review(underscore)simplecharm(at)hotmail(dot)com with your answer (replace with respective symbols in the e-mail address).

Thanks for reading!


	3. So Where Do I Start?

Disclaimer: I don't own Cardcaptor Sakura. Suing me would be a waste of your time. Don't even try it.

Enjoy the chapter!

Chapter 3 of 'My Life'  
_So where do I start?_

_

* * *

_

Sakura was wondering when Syaoran would finally show up. Staring at her pink watch, which had been a birthday present from Eriol when he was in England, she noted that Syaoran was 20 minutes late. Normally, she was the late one, but today, it seemed their roles were switched.

_Where was he?_ He should be here, and she was getting bored. To occupy herself, she'd been reading My Life over Chiharu's shoulder. It was quite interesting, for her standards.

* * *

_Chapter 2  
Hello_

_When I walked into my new class, all I could do was stare. There were so many more people than I expected. My old school had been much smaller than this one, seeing as this was supposed to be one of the best schools in Japan. Performing a quick look-around, I noted that there had to be at least twice as many students in the classroom as there were in my old classroom. A lot of the students were giving me mean stares, and I shifted uncomfortably._

"_Introduce yourself," the teacher ordered crisply. I brushed the maroon-colored uniform so that all the dust accumulated on the front disappeared, and then turned towards the class._

"_Ikumo Arisu. Nice to meet you all," I finally said, and a chill ran down my spine as I did so. They… they were so cold._

"_Take any empty seat," the teacher ordered. I flinched subtly at every word. The teacher was so loud. Finally, I took a random empty seat and sat down. The teacher penciled it in as my assigned seat for… however long she decided it to be assigned to me._

_Little did I know that it would be a long time before I got my seat switched._

_I spent a lot of time by myself at my new school. People greeted me as if I'd been there for years. It was almost like my old school. Except… none of my friends were there. I definitely missed them. I got phone calls occasionally, and I'd talk for about 5 minutes before they had to get off, for one reason or another._

_I didn't even have time to say 'hello' to them._

_I felt so lonely…_

_

* * *

_

"Sakura!" A voice interrupted her reading. Sakura stood up.

"Eh? Syaoran!" She beamed. He was finally here!

"Is that reporter weird or what?" Syaoran asked, pointing at the Channel 7 reporter. Sakura nodded.

"She interviewed you, too?"

"Nn." Sakura smiled. That was Syaoran's way of saying yes. Giving him a once-over, she almost burst into laughter. He looked frazzled from searching for her. She grabbed his arm and pulled him into the seat she used to be occupying. He smiled gratefully at her.

"Arigatou, Sakura." Sakura shook her head.

"Mm! It's no problem!" Syaoran vaguely remembered her doing that, around 15 years ago, when she was just trying to be nice and he was shunning her.

"Okay, then." He smiled.

"So, what did you tell her?" Sakura asked curiously.

"I don't remember, actually. I think I was too busy looking for you." Sakura burst into peals of laughter.

* * *

Once again, Tomoyo was following Eriol at a quick pace this time, and she had a camcorder. She'd given up on the digital camera when the flash went off, attracting the attention of the people in the bookstore. Suddenly, Eriol stopped. Surprised, Tomoyo walked right into him, causing him to turn around.

"Hey, Tomoyo-san." He held up his digital watch, showing the time 1:01:23:93, which was where he'd stopped it. He showed it to Tomoyo.

"This is how long you've been following me," he explained, with a smile on his face. Tomoyo smiled back. She should've known that he'd keep acting and pretending he hadn't noticed her at all. But 1 hour, 1 minute, 23 seconds, and 93 milliseconds? She's been following him for a pretty long time. All of a sudden, exhaustion spread through her body, and she sat down on the floor. Eriol glanced at her, and then whispered, "Look to the right." Tomoyo did so, and spotted a woman with shoulder-length hair. She looked exactly like someone she knew a long time ago, without the glasses.

"Naoko-san?" She whispered, turning to Eriol. A nod was her confirmation. Tomoyo tried to move, but she was too tired to try and talk to her.

"I haven't seen her in years!" Tomoyo looked back at Eriol, who was giving her a serious look.

"What happened after I left for England?"

"A lot," Tomoyo responded, frowning.

"If you don't tell me, I'll be forced to pry," he told her, with a grin. Tomoyo looked away. She didn't want him to, or he'd know the _entire_ story, from beginning to end.

"Well?" Tomoyo looked at him.

"Ah, where do I start?" She asked herself. With no answer from Eriol to prompt her, she decided to start from when they all sent applications.

"Em…It all started with our middle school applications. Okaa-san wanted me to go to Kiroshima Boarding School, Sakura-kun was going to Seijiou High, and Naoko-san was going to Ishohiro. Takeshi-san was off to Samete, along with Chiharu-san. Rika-san was going to Maejiora. After that, we could only make phone calls to each other to keep contact, as well as the occasional meeting at Penguin Park, which all of us could never make at the same time." She paused, waiting for Eriol to process the information before continuing.

"After awhile, Sakura, as hard as she tried, couldn't keep in contact with all of us, and stopped. I managed to keep contact with Chiharu, but that was all. After awhile, that ended too. Without contact, Naoko-san became silent and reserved. Sakura-kun fell into a depression. I experienced a state of loneliness; the students at my school weren't very nice. There was no change of mood in Chiharu-san and Takeshi-san," Tomoyo finished lamely.

"Okay then," was Eriol's quick reply. Tomoyo was surprised, but hid it. _He _really_ didn't know, did he? Even Syaoran knew!_ She thought. There was a long silence.

"That was an awful explination," he added, smiling. Oh, so he did know. He just wanted the truth out of her. Tomoyo exhaled slowly.

"You sure? Because this is a long story." He smiled.

"Positive."

"Honto ne?"

"Hai!"

"Well, it really _did_ start with our middle school applications. I wanted to go to Hetoshiro, but Okaa-san _insisted_ on Kiroshima. Sakura-kun, like her onii-chan, was applying to Seijou High, even though her onii-chan claimed she'd never be able to get in. Naoko-san was going to Ishohiro Private School, per request of her dying otou-san. Rika-san was going to Maejiora Private School, because she felt that she'd learn the most there. Takeshi-san and Chiharu-san were going to Samete, a technical arts school, where Takeshi-san would learn how to write books and Chiharu-san would learn culinary arts.

"We attempted to keep in touch, but we never thought it would be as hard as it ended up. In the end, the only person that managed was Sakura-kun. I lost contact with most of them while at boarding school, and Naoko-san couldn't keep in contact because of her homework…"

* * *

_**(Continuation from middle of Ch. 2 in 'My Life')**_

"_Hey," said a boy's voice. "Could you help me? You seem capable." I looked up to see Atatake Kyo, smiling at me. Startled, my immediate reaction ended up being a loud cry. In response, he yelped loudly._

"_Hey! You two! Be quiet or get out of the library!" The librarian's assistant was back, and furious. I turned to glare at Shinji, who flinched._

"_Shut up!" I muttered. He rolled his eyes and stormed off._

"_Er…" What could I tell him now? I'd never helped anyone with homework before._

"_Please?" He smiled at me._

"_Okay." He cheered, prompting Shinji to come back._

"_Arisu! Keep your boyfriend silent!"_

"_What makes you think he's my boyfriend? He's my classmate!" I retorted, glaring at Shinji. I didn't even like Kyo!_

"_Well sorry, then! It's not my fault you two look like lovers!"_

"_What makes us look like lovers?"_

"_There you go, yelling again! Honestly! I should just kick you out already!" In fact, we'd attracted a lot of attention from the people in the library._

"_Then WHY DON'T YOU?" I didn't receive a response._

"_Then stop making threats, if you're not going to follow them up!" I exited the library, my good mood gone. I completely forgot about Kyo, standing in the doorway._

_

* * *

_

It's short, and the explanation I invented is rather lame.

In Japan, students going from elementary school (1-6) to middle school and then to high school (7-9 and 10-12, respectively) send in an application to the school they want to go to (I think).  
Also, I think Seijou High is a middle/high school. If not, oh well.

On a side note, no one sent any guesses at all for chapter 2. If you want to try, go back to chapter 2 and read the ending author's note. I want to know how many people I tricked! (grins evilly)

I hope you enjoyed it!


	4. You've Got to be Kidding!

Er... hi. Sorry I'm late. Don't kill me!

Thanks to all the people who attempted to guess! You can continue guessing, as well as give me an opinion (listed below).

I got some guesses saying that Eriol did know who Ikumo Arisu is. I actually haven't decided yet. So for now, he is a 'wildcard character'. If you've already guessed, Eriol was _not _marked as correct if I replied to you. In your review, you can let me know whether or not you think Eriol should know.

And if you notice any spelling/grammar mistakes, let me know. My normal writing software has to be reinstalled. If this chapter seemed a little rushed to you, that's because I am (sadly) having problems of figuring out where to go with this story next.

Disclaimer: I don't own CCS. If I did, then the world would end. That is all.

Chapter 4 of 'My Life'  
_You've Got to be Kidding!_

* * *

Naoko let out a small sigh as she flipped another page. My Life _was_ interesting, but she wasn't really into it. Then again, she'd never really liked non-fiction in the first place. Her favorite genré had always been fantasy, and it still was. 

"Naoko-san?" A voice asked quietly, pulling her out of the world of reading. She looked up to see familiar reddish-brown hair and gentle brown eyes.

"Rika-san?" She asked, startled. What was she doing here? She'd heard that Rika was out of town for the month on a buisness trip.

"Weren't you supposed to be out of town?" Rika, being a successful buisnesswoman, worked often, making it almost impossible to reach her at any given time.

"You look different without your glasses," Rika commented, changing the subject abruptly. Naoko smiled at Rika, who seemed to be staring past her.

"Contacts," she informed her. "Have you read this yet?" Naoko added, holding up the book she'd been reading. Rika shook her head, but Naoko noticed that she seemed to be looking around for something.

"It's rather interesting," Naoko continued, attempting to ignore the fact that Rika wasn't looking at her. "Her parents were murdered, did you know? And here, it says that her brother were blessed with powers that could 'save the world, or destroy it', which is apparantly why people tried to kidnap her, since they thought she had the powers." Naoko wasn't going to add the other detail, which was that her brother had also been murdered. That would just spoil the story for Rika.

Nodding absently, Rika turned her attention to the area behind Naoko, towards the doorway. A strange expression crossed over her face. _Oh no..._ she thought silently, as she suddenly disappeared, leaving Naoko alone with her book.

"Hey! You!" Naoko let out a sigh, recognizing the voice. _Not her again... _she thought, turning to face the rude Channel 7 News Reporter.

"Who is she!" The reporter demanded. Naoko gave her an odd look.

"You."

"What? Really?" The reporter asked, turning to the cameraman for confirmation. He just shrugged. "Wait a minute - no I'm not! Who is she, really?" But Naoko had disappeared into a crowd of high school students that had conviniently passed by at that exact moment.

"Wouldn't you like to know..." Naoko murmured, a grin set on her face. She was never going to tell the reporter. Never.

* * *

Chiharu let out a groan of frustration. The story had been getting so good! And here was Eriol and Tomoyo, asking for a history lesson of sorts. 

"You want to know about Test Day?" Chiharu asked, looking up at Eriol from her seat. Sakura and Syaoran nodded. Chiharu turned to look at them.

"Er... you two don't need to listen, you know. You already know the story."

"Demo, it's so much fun hearing you tell stories!" Sakura protested, and Syaoran, smirking, added, "besides, it makes you sound like Takeshi-san." Chiharu decided to ignore that comment and turned back to Eriol, smiling.

"Hm... our story begins on a hot summer morning. It was the middle of June, and the fan in the classroom had broken..."

* * *

(A/N: From this point until I say otherwise, _italics _are the events of the story and _**bold italics** _are any comments outside of the story - plus the narrator's narration. The rest is pretty much a no-brainer. And if you really feel like it, just skip over the bold italics if you don't feel like reading their conversations.) 

_"__...tests were originally designed for writing skills only, and served no purpose until grading was invented years later, and - ack!"__ His final word in the sentence was punctuated with the yell of "__Liar!"__ and a pair of feminine hands that grabbed his neck and began shaking the poor dark-haired boy back and forth. Onlookers felt bad for the boy, and they would've helped, except they found the exchange between the boy and the girl hilarious and besides, the boy was still grinning, his eyes closed, and his index finger pointing into the air, the same stance he'd been in before the girl with the two pigtails began shaking him._

**_"__So what kind of story was he telling?"__ Eriol asked, seeing as it was his best friend being strangled in the story. Chiharu rolled her eyes._**

**_"__Some story he came up with about how tests were made,"__ Tomoyo supplied, having been there._**

**_"__Was it good?"_**

**_"__Yeah, but since Li-kun or Sakura-kun wasn't there, I didn't tape it!"__ Tomoyo complained, causing Sakura to giggle._**

**_"__Can I continue? Onegai?"__ Chiharu demanded._**

**_"__Ah, hai, continue, onegai shimasta,"_**_** Sakura said, having calmed down.  
**_

_"__Eh... Chiharu-chan? Are you going to stop attacking Yamazaki-kun?"__ The girl in question turned to Rika, who was sitting at the desk right behind them, smiling. Before Chiharu could answer, however, the sliding door of Class 3-B was forcefully pulled open, and a girl in a navy blue skirt and a white blouse slid to a stop in front of the entryway, panting. Her emerald eyes scanned the room._

_"__Am I late?"__ She asked, hoping for confirmation that, yes, she wasn't late. A girl with dark hair and amethyst eyes shook her head._

_"__Iie, Sakura-chan. You're on time today,"__ she told her, smiling. Sakura let out a sigh of relief. For once, she'd managed to arrive on time. Today was important, however, since it was finals, where they took the test that would mean getting into their ideal high school or some other school. She'd studied the entire week for the exam, and so had everyone else._

_The teacher arrived not long after, holding a manilla folder with a stack of paper inside - the exam that would be issued to them. Sakura sat down at the desk next to Tomoyo, looking nervous.  
_

_"__Pencils out!"__ Came the yell of the homeroom teacher. Some students paled. In their rush to get to school on time, they'd forgotten pencils. Seeing this, the teacher let out a sigh._

_"__If you've forgotten a pencil, please come to my desk and borrow one,"__ she said, watching as several of the students stood up and headed towards her._

_"__Alright, now, I will hand out the exam. You have an hour and a half to finish it. If you finish by that time, you are asked to leave the room and go to the courtyard. You will be called back in when everyone is finished, or when the time is up.__"__ Chiharu bit her lip as the teacher began handing out exams. This was going to be hard. She _had_ to get into Samete, one of the few technical schools in the area. Many people sent applications, but only five were accepted every year._

_"__Everyone have their exam? Alright, begin!__"_

_------_

_Scribbling down the answer to the last problem, Rika checked to see if her name was on the paper.  
**  
"**_**_How do you know she did that?" Eriol asked. __"__I thought you were taking an exam.__"_**

**_"__I just happened to be staring at the back of her head when she stood up! She was sitting right in front of me!__"__ Chiharu snapped._**

**_"__Trying to cheat?__"_**

**_"__Every exam paper that's handed out is different. The questions are all in a different order, and all that. So if anyone were looking at the answers to the questions off someone else's sheet, they wouldn't make sense as answers to their own,__"__ Tomoyo explained._**

**_"__That's... very elaborate,__"__ was Eriol's reply._**

_She stood up and approached the front, handing the paper to the teacher. Then she left the classroom. The first to leave had been Naoko, who'd finished about five minutes before._

_When the test was over, everyone returned to the classroom. The teacher stood up and said, __"__Your scores will be posted a week from now in the outside hall. Prepare your applications and bring them in on that day.__"_

_-----_

_"__You're WHAT?__"__ Chiharu shouted, eyes wide._

_"__Ehehe...__"__ Was all Sakura could say in reply._

_"__Wow! There's actually someone I know that does magic!__"__ Takeshi cried. __"__Three someones, actually!__"_

_"__Sakura spent all this time debating whether or not she should tell you, and she finally did!__"__ Tomoyo said, smiling, her videocamera out. __"__See? They didn't freak out, except for maybe Chiharu, but that's it,__"__ she continued as she focused the camera on each person's individual reaction._

_Rika had fallen silent and Naoko's face couldn't be seen. Takeshi was smiling, and Chiharu's face had shock written all over it.  
_

_"__I-I have to go,__"__ Rika said abruptly, breaking away from the group. Naoko pulled away from the group not long after, her face expressionless._

(A/N: And here is where I say, "Otherwise!")_  
_

_

* * *

_

"We didn't think much of it at the time, until Rika was suddenly unable to contact the majority of us, and Naoko pretty much lost all contact," Chiharu finished, a thoughtful expression on her face.

"It was rather strange, back then," Sakura noted. "Rika-san was so uncharacteristically quiet, and Naoko-san should have been all excited... and yet..." Her voice trailed off.

"I wonder what's up with those two," Chiharu mumbled, as she returned to her book.

"Who knows..." Syaroan muttered, staring out the window.

* * *

Rika's eyes located Maki, the bookstore owner in the back. She seemed to be having trouble with a - what was that? It _looked_ like a podium, except... it seemed to be in pieces. 

"Need help?" Rika asked curiously, standing next to the podium.

"Would you?" Maki asked hopefully. "I'm so useless with putting these kinds of things together, and my in-laws sent this!" Laughing in embarrassment, she offered Rika the wrench.

"Uh... let's see... it looks like this goes here, according to the handbook, but where does this go?" Rika mused out loud, holding a thin triangle.

"I think it goes on the top, right on the side."

"Oh, I see now!" It took awhile, but they managed to put together a successful-looking podium.

"Very nice," a voice commented cheerfully from behind Rika. She turned to see Naoko, who looked a bit claustrophobic.

"It's rather crowded in the store now," Maki commented, staring out the doorway, seeing all the people.

"They're here to see Ikumo Arisu," Rika said.

"Are you two looking forward to meeting her? I am!" Maki said, smiling at them both.

"Of course!" Rika replied.

"She's my new favorite author!" Naoko responded, beaming. A person watching in the shadows smirked.

_"__This should be fun... I can't wait...__"_

* * *

Well, that's the end of Chapter 4! Feel free to guess again, if you wish (see ending note in chapter 2). 

I'm probably going to start juggling fics soon, since ideas keep coming in and I have no way to let them out.


	5. Unexpected Happenings

I started writing this chapter - and it occured to me - I completely forgot to find some way to stick Takeshi into the story! AH! So he'll just... randomly appear like he does in the TV show... I guess.

Special thanks to all my readers and reviewers! Invisible or otherwise! I tried to get out this chapter earlier because you all asked me to! Although I got it out late again... so I tried to make it longer! Hope it worked!

Disclaimer: Ah! No! I've lost my creativity for inventing disclaimers! Oh, wait... nevermind. If I owned Cardcaptor Sakura, then the sky wouldn't be blue. That way, no one can ask me why the sky is blue anymore! BUT, since the sky _is_ blue, I _obviously_ don't own CCS. HA! (Or not ha. I have no idea anymore.)

Chapter 5 of 'My Life'_  
Unexpected Happenings

* * *

_ Naoko had begun reading manga, only because she'd grown incredibly bored. She hadn't opted to take part in the card game that Eriol had begun with Syaoran and Tomoyo, or the tarot card reading that Sakura was doing for some random girl that had showed up. 

Sakura smiled absently as she watched the girl cut the deck with her left hand. For the reading, Sakura was using her pink Sakura cards. Sakura then took the pile from the girl and put the first few cards down.

"You will meet someone unexpected." Another card down.

"Your life will be turned around." Another card.

"Watch out for the color red." She began scooping the cards together.

"That's it," Sakura said lightly, smiling at the brown-haired girl in front of her.

"Arigatou," the girl said, bowing, before turning to leave.

"No..." Sakura began, but the girl had left. "Problem..." She said, her voice trailing off.

"Naoko-san, do you want me to do you?" For the third time, Naoko shook her head, her eyes never leaving the book. Sakura's face fell, but she quickly covered it with a smile.

"Alright then!" Behind her, Eriol and Syaoran were arguing.

"No way. It's a Six of Spades." Syaoran snapped.

"No, it's a Nine of Hearts." Eriol retorted calmly.

"Six of Spades!"

"Nine of Hearts."

"Six of Spades!"

"Nine of Hearts." Tomoyo let out a sigh.

"Next time you two call a Point of Order during a game of Mao, please try to remember that there are other people playing... and the card on top is the Ace of Clubs."

After the statement from Tomoyo, there were two simultaneous "Oh"s. Then a long silence.

"I still say it's the Six of Spades."

"Nope. It's the Nine of Hearts."

"Just end point already..."

* * *

Chiharu had resumed reading her book. Turning a page, she noted that the story was reaching its climax. She leaned back in the seat, against the plush backside, trying to find a comfortable position. 

And then her worst nightmare occured.

"Did you know that in -" Her hand immediately shot out, smacking the speaker in the face.

"YOU BAKA!" Takeshi reeled back, his brown eyes closed in pain.

"Itai!"

(A/N: Uh... yay for pointless scenes...?)

* * *

After Chiharu calmed down, she turned to glare at him. 

"Baka." He just smiled, a bruse swelling on his head. Sakura smiled.

"Do you want me to do your fortune, Yamazaki-san?" Chiharu began waving her arms wildly.

"Don't! If you do his fortune, he'll start -"

"Did you know that fortune telling was invented -"

"- telling lies again..." Chiharu groaned. But Sakura was too engrossed in Takeshi's story to hear the rest of Chiharu's sentence. Nearby, Tomoyo was smiling; her camcorder out and aimed at Sakura.

"Ohohoho..."

Syaoran put another card down at Tomoyo's spot, sweatdropping.

"Five seconds..." Eriol sweatdropped as well.

"I wonder how long it'll take before she realizes it's her turn?"

"Question..." Was Syaoran's reply, putting a card down in front of Eriol.

"Point of order," was Eriol's reply. Syaoran let out a growl of frustration and proceeded to shuffle the cards in an attempt to occupy himself.

He was then jostled by the high school girl that was being followed by the hordes of fanboys, who were listening to her stories of her 'friendship' with Ikumo Arisu.

"She was _so_ like, amazing! And it was like, the best! And - what do you, like, think you are _doing_?" The last question was directed at Tomoyo, who was trying to videotape Sakura. She looked up.

"Videotaping someone, maybe?" Tomoyo suggested, adjusting the zoom.

"Well, ugh, it'd better not be me! I don't want to, like, get videotaped by an ugly old lady!" Tomoyo rolled her eyes as she focused.

"You're so self-centered. Who'd want to videotape you, other than your fanclub? And anyways, this is how I found most of my models. By videotaping people when I interviewed them."

"I am totally _not_ self-centered! That is like, so not true! And - wait, did you say model? I want to be one!" Chiharu had begun strangling Takeshi.

"That's great, but we need to get back to our _card game_. Or did you forget, Tomoyo-san?" Tomoyo turned off her camcorder and turned to Eriol, the speaker. The girl froze, her mouth gaping open in horror. She'd just insulted _the_ Daidouji Tomoyo, world-famous fashion designer!

"Oh, right! Whose turn is it?"

"Yours," Syaoran said, indicating the pile of cards that used to be her hand.

Tomoyo sweatdropped.

* * *

Rika was browsing the non-fiction section of the store when she bumped into none other than Li Meiling. 

"Meiling-san? What are you doing here?"

"Ah! Sasaki-san! Have you seen my cousin? He abandoned me at the airport when we got here! Man, when I find him I'm gonna -" She finished off her sentence by strangling the air rather violently.

"Oh, well, he's over there, playing cards with Tomoyo-san and Hiiragizawa-san," Rika said, indicating their heated card game with an index finger.

"Arigatiou!" Meiling darted off.

In a few seconds, cries of "Hello, Meiling-san!" and "Ah! What do you think you are doing! Itai!" were heard.

Rika sighed. She was never going to find that book on dolphins.

* * *

In a faraway corner of the bookstore, were two people. One was a man, and the other was a woman. They were in deep discussion. 

"It'll definitely work!" The woman said, glaring at the man angrily. "I'll get her to confess for sure!"

"No. It won't work. This will just be a waste of time!" The man snapped.

"It will work."

"It won't."

"It will!"

"It won't!"

"IT WILL!"

"IT WON'T!" Meanwhile, the small group of onlookers sweatdropped. The news reporter and her cameraman were acting like five-year-olds!

"Er... you two... you know, we kinda need to get back to shooting material..."

"Oh, alright then!" The news reporter stood up, looking irritable. "Let's get this over with!"

The cameraman and the crew began setting up the camera and clearing out a space in the store.

* * *

Rika's eyes widened in shock when she spotted someone she'd rather not see. 

_No way! It can't be! He followed me here! I went through so many shortcuts just to make sure he wouldn't find out where I was going!_

She ran off to the nearest restroom in an attempt to hide, abandoning her search for the book that she was looking for.

_He can't find me!_ She thought fleetingly. _He just can't!_

She yanked open the door of the woman's restroom and went inside, sinking into one of the chairs in the lounge.

_Kami-sama, I hope he doesn't find me_...

She buried her hands in her face, trying to relax.

* * *

"Eh... this book is overrated." Chiharu muttered, flinging another book aside. She'd finished _My Life_ and was trying to find another one. 

"What time is she supposed to show up again?" She asked Syaoran, who still looked rather beat up from Meiling's thrashing. Sakura was trying to treat his bruises with a first-aid kit from her purse.

"Point of Order," he told the others. "Three. Right now, it's two-thirty," he informed Chiharu.

"Ugh... I feel like I've been in here for years..." She groaned.

"The store's barred off to others now, but if you need a drink or anything like that, you could just go get one over there," he said, pointing towards the main desk, where a table had been set up, with plates and drinks.

"Oh! I didn't know that," Chiharu said, standing up and heading toward the main desk. Syaoran turned back to the game.

"Who's turn is it?" Eriol pointed at Meiling, who'd joined the game.

"Her."

"Alright, end point." And at that particular moment, Takeshi showed up.

"Did you know that card games are derived from tarot cards, which were used back in the 1600's? People believed..."

"Point of Order!" Meiling cried, seeing as everyone was drawn into Takeshi's story.

And then:

"Ahahahahahahaha - ack!" Chiharu had returned with a soda and a cookie. She was now choking the life out of Takeshi.

"Lies. Total and_ complete_ lies." She explained, causing Sakura to go "Hoe?" and for everyone else who believed the story to say "Really?"

Then there was a gunshot. Chiharu released Takeshi in surprise.

"What's going on?" She asked, turning.

* * *

"Alright, do I look good? Okay, then!" The cameraman grinned at her. 

"In three, two, one -" He made a motion with his hand.

"I'm Channel 7 News Reporter Akimira Kasumi, from Twin Bells! We're all excited to be here, waiting for Ikumo Arisu, in hopes that she'll be here!" She turned to a random person in the store.

"Are you looking forward to it?"

"Of course!" She turned to another person.

"And how about you?"

"I can't wait to meet her! Her books are fantastic!"

"And what about you? What do you think about Ikumo Arisu's arriva -" She was cut off by a gunshot.

"What was that?"

* * *

In the lounge, Rika covered her ears when she heard the gunshot. 

_Oh kami-sama, it _is _him_... she groaned mentally.

_He'd better not find me_...

* * *

Naoko absently turned a page in whatever book she was reading at that point. A shadow suddenly blocked her light, so she looked up. 

To see a man with dark hair and dark eyes, glaring down at her. He wore a red shirt and blue jeans. She gasped when she realized who it was. And to her horror, he had a gun. There was a gasp of shock from behind her.

He fired it. It hit the person behind her. She heard the person let out another gasp - the last breath they'd ever take - and hit the carpeted floor with a thud. Turning in horror, she realized just exactly who he'd killed.

It was the person from earlier, the one who had gotten a tarot card reading from Sakura.

She was lying on the floor, in a pool of blood.

She was clutching a copy of _My Life,_ which the bullet had gone straight through - right throught the word 'Life'.

She had a horrified look on her face.

And her eyes were completely blank.

Meaning she was dead.

_Completely. _

* * *

Eh... wow? 

I think I'm going to expect flames for this chapter. I have warned myself.


	6. Finale

Ahahaha... the last chapter was bad, and this chapter is worse! I think this is becoming a problem...

For those of you that haven't noticed, I updated a new story. I'd also like to thank KiwiKol for the review. I forgot to mention that. It'll be explained (not in detail) in this chapter.

Disclaimer: Yes, I own CCS. I also own a pink elephant, a pet werewolf, and the planet Zobo.  
Please note sarcasm.

Chapter 6 of 'My Life'_  
Finale_

* * *

Naoko stood rooted to the spot in horror. She couldn't take her eyes away from the blood that was staining the carpets. The screams in the store weren't there at all. Her ears were still ringing from the gunshot. 

"Where is she." It was a statement, not a question. Naoko didn't turn to look at the speaker. The only thing running through her mind was one thought, over and over again.

_Sakura's fortune came true. _

_Sakura's fortune came true._

"I said: _where is she?_" He demanded angrily. He didn't recieve an answer.

"WHERE?" He yelled. Naoko turned with a placid expression on her face. Her mind had gone completely blank.

_"She is nowhere, yet somewhere at the same time, she is nobody, and yet, she exists as somebody," _she said in a quiet voice, quoting from one of Ikumo Arisu's books. Her voice was on autopilot, and her mind was shutting down from fear. _He's going to kill me, _she silently thought. _He murdered Rika's parents, and now he's going to kill me._

She recalled the day Rika had been escorted to her house, tearstained and broken. Rika'd had to grow up pretty fast after that...

And she'd only been five.

"That gets me nowhere!" He was furious. This girl wasn't going to help him at all!

_"Nowhere is the definition of somewhere that doesn't exist. That somewhere is just simply... not there,"_ was Naoko's quiet response, her mouth still on autopilot.

He fired off another shot, this time through the roof. A yelp escaped from Naoko's lips, but it was lost in all the screams.

"Tell me, or die."

The barrel of the gun was now aimed at her heart.

Naoko visibly turned white.

* * *

"Can't you _do _anything Eriol-san?" Tomoyo cried over the screams. She had her cellphone out and was trying to reach the police. 

"I could try, but I wouldn't know what to do!" Eriol had unconciously begun intecepting thoughts, and he had a massive headache. He tried to keep his composure.

"Are you retarded or something? You're normally the one that comes up with the harebrained ideas!" Syaoran demanded, glaring at his distant relative. "Naoko's going to get killed at this rate, and I can't do anything, because I'd just succeed in destroying half the store as well!"

The table they'd been playing cards was knocked over as the highschool girl with the fanboys ran past, all screaming. Tomoyo let out a groan and leaned over to pick up the cards. She still hadn't made a connection with the police.

"What about Sakura?" Chiharu suggested as she tried to help Tomoyo.

Meiling nodded. "She should be able to do it!"

"Yeah, but there's one problem," Syaoran said. At that very moment, Meiling looked around and didn't see the auburn-haired girl anywhere.

"Wait a second. Where'd she go?"

"And _that's_ our problem."

* * *

Sakura clutched her star wand, face pale. The girl that she'd done a fortune on earlier lay dead on the ground. 

It just wasn't fair. How one second you could be living and the next, dead.

"Illusion," she whispered, letting the wand tap one of her pink Sakura cards. She vanished from a normal point of view, letting the Illusion card swathe her in its magic.

Completely invisible to the naked eye, she moved slowly, positioning herself next to Naoko.

"Freeze," she hissed, tapping the card. The ice slowly crept along the ground. She used her magic to convert it so it was invisible.

"Sleep," she whispered, as the man glared at Naoko. The little fairy floated around, putting people to sleep. There were a lot of people in the store. Sakura was feeling the magic drain at this point. She would collapse at this rate.

"If you won't tell me anything useful, then you die!" The man fired a shot.

The bullet began covering the distance between him and Naoko.

"SHIELD!" Sakura screamed.

Time stopped.

* * *

Eriol watched the fairy floating around, sprinking blue powder. Every single person it flew over fell asleep. _Sakura has this much magic, eh?_ He thought silently. She was putting a lot of people asleep. 

Using his magic, he deflected the fairy from him and the others, who, for some reason or another, had resumed the game.

Syaoran glared at them all. "Do you not realize that there _is_ in fact, a problem?" Meiling looked up at her cousin.

"We can't do anything about it without destroying anything, anyways! Go fish," she added.

"Dangit!" Chiharu muttered, leaning over and picking up a card.

"So we're just going to do nothing?"

"What _can_ we do, Syaoran? Absolutely nothing, that's what." Meiling said. "Unless you want us to blow up the store while we're at -"

A scream cut through her sentence.

* * *

A little fairy drifted into the women's lounge, spirinkling dust on Rika. She fell fast asleep. 

The fairy then glowed pink and went back into its card, job done.

Its card lay in a pool of blood that was slowly spreading, but its magic prevented it from getting bloody.

* * *

Syaoran tore through the store. That scream _had _to be Sakura's. 

He froze when he reached the scene. There was blood on the ground. Sakura layface upin it, her pink cards scattered all around her. Her wand glowed and shrank, becoming the Star Key.

The man was frozen in place, but he was shouting obscene things. Naoko's face was ashen. She'd just escaped a near death experience.

"Is-is she -" Syaoran didn't dare say the word, for fear that it might be true.

Naoko shook her head.

"She's still alive." Syaoran sank to the ground in relief.

"I think she's suffering from magic drain." Tomoyo came over.

"I reached the police! They should be here soon!" She froze when she saw Sakura. Syaoran smiled weakly at her.

"She's not dead, thank kami-sama," he told her.

"Then the blood -"

"Is from the girl behind her," Naoko said quietly.

"Oh..." Syaoran began carefully picking up all of her Sakura cards. People around were waking up, looking confused.

"What happened?"

"I remember a gunshot... then... wait. Are we all dead?"

"No.. I don't think so..."

It was a while before the police arrived, forcing the barred doors open and searching.

"Where is the offending man?" The policeman's voice boomed loudly.

"Here, sir," a woman said. Children were crying. People were trying to avoid the blood. The police lifted the dead girl, seaching for an I.D. Syaoran stood protectively over Sakura when the policeman came to see her.

"She's not dead," Syaoran proclaimed. He'd have to get Eriol to do one of those cleaning spells on her, but other than that, she was okay. The policeman shrugged.

"Okay, then," he said, grabbing the man and handcuffing him. He turned to Maki. "We'll be sending in a cleaning team to clean the blood, but other than that, you should be good." He began pushing the man through the door, followed by another policeman that'd bagged the gun and the bloodstained book.

"I'LL GET YOU SASAKI!" He yelled as he was dragged through the door.

* * *

In the lounge, Rika shot up. 

_That was Kazama's voice_... She thought.

_He really _was _going to kill me!_ The door opened.

"Eh... Sasaki-san? Rika looked up to see Meiling. "He left."

"Oh, r-really? Th-that's good..." She shakily stood up. And fell over.

"Ikumo Arisu's supposed to show up in 15 minutes!"

"That's exciting..." Rika said quietly.

"You know, when he left, he yelled something about you," Meiling commented. "Do you know him?"

"Hai," Rika whispered. "He killed my parents. And my brother."

"Oh," Meiling said, not knowing what else to say.

"Well, I'd better get off," Rika said, standing up and leaving the room.

"Er..." The door slammed shut. "Okay, then..."

* * *

"Are you looking forward to meeting Ikumo Arisu?" The reporter, having awakened, was doing interviews. Again. 

"Of course! Who wouldn't be?" A man asked.

"You'd have to be pretty stupid to not be," a woman said calmly.

"Honestly, I'm not sure!" A middle-school girl said.

"Nope." A boy of around five said bluntly. "I hate reading."

"I am!" A little girl cheered brightly.

"Definitely!" A couple said in unison.

"Well, it looks like almost everyone's excited! And the police are still investigating the murder case of Nanashi Ai(1), who was shot today," the reporter said, finishing up her interviews. The cameraman turned the camera off.

"Now all we have to do is wait..." The camerawoman said quietly, a grin spreading across her face.

* * *

"Do you have a five?" Eriol asked. 

"No. Go fish." Eriol leaned over and picked up a card.

"A six?"

"You already used your turn," Syaoran said.

"Well, too bad." Sakura was still unconcious, but Syaoran had managed to convince Eriol to clean up the blood all over her clothes.

"ATTENTION EVERYONE! IKUMO ARISU WILL BE UP HERE IN TWO MINUTES!" Someone had a megaphone. The loud voice jolted Sakura awake.

"Did Naoko -"

"I'm perfectly fine," Naoko cut in. Sakura let out a sigh of relief.

"Come on," Syaoran told her. "We should go meet her."

"We already met her," Tomoyo said casually, standing up. "Didn't we?" Naoko nodded.

"We did," she said, before disappearing into the crowd.

Rika could be seen squeezing her way through the crowd. The reporter was doing interviews again.

"Do you know her?" The reporter asked. There was a "No."

"Excited?"

"Yes."

Meiling just waited patiently at the edge of the crowd, having left the restroom.

Syaoran looked up to see someone familiar at the podium.

"See, what did I tell you? We met her already!" Tomoyo said cheerfully.

"You knew who she was?" He asked her.

"Of course! I know lots of things! Actually, Eriol told me," she said, lowering her voice to a confidential whisper.

"Oh." The woman behind the podium cleared her throat.

"Eh... hello. That scare was... something, wasn't it?" Silence. Chiharu was in total shock.

"Er... I'm well-known as Ikumo Arisu..." Meiling stared at the speaker, stunned.

"But I'm actually known as Sasaki Rika..."

**Owari**

* * *

Ha! I finished! Poorly, though... 

For those of you that reviewed, thank you very much! I will now be writing Unbreakable Promise, for those of you that are interested.

Originally, I was going to make Ikumo Arisu Naoko, but then I figured out that wouldn't work. I also considered making thehigh school girl IkumoArisu.Feel free to dream it up, if you want. I may or may not write an epilogue. It's up to you guys to decide.

Also for the chapter 2 answers:

**Everyone who knew:**  
Tomoyo  
Naoko (Heh, Naoko's lie was a lame one. She said that she promised, but she never did.)  
Eriol (2 people voted yes, but no one voted no, so he knows)  
Little girl with book (Well, I didn't bother to name her...)  
12 year old boy

**Everyone who didn't:**  
Chiharu  
Sakura  
Group of Girls (Wasn't it obvious?)  
Rebellious boy  
Syaoran  
Mother with child  
Couple  
Woman in forties  
Girl with fanclub (Also obvious!)

(1) - Nanashi Ai. Nanashi is 'no-name', ai is 'love'. I just randomly picked that name. Expect it to show up often in my fics...

**Thank you to:** Animefreakkagome (strange review there), TeDDie BeaRZ, Queen of Pink (_anon._), cheeky doggie, Lil-BabYAnG3L, SPAngelz, ffgirl-07, KiwiKol, blackXxXblossom, Jade (_anon._), and Musette Fujiwara **for reviewing!**

As well as all of those that bothered to add this story to their** favorites** and **story alerts**!

See you all in my next story! (Eh... if you decide to read it, that is...)


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